Man Allegedly Kidnapped, Brutally Beat Ex-Lover In Essex County

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A New York man has been accused of brutally attacking his former lover in the basement of an Essex County home, tying the victim up with a string of Christmas lights and taking the person on a harrowing, interstate journey to North Carolina last December.

Rudolf Szoradi, 50, is expected to appear in federal court Tuesday to face charges of kidnapping, transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines, interstate domestic violence and interstate violation of a protection order. No towns were revealed by authorities, nor was the gender of the victim.

Szoradi was originally arrested in December 2017 and has been in state custody since, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (NJ) stated.

According to a criminal complaint, Szoradi took the victim to his relative’s home in Essex County on December 15, defying a previous restraining order. In the basement of the home, Szoradi allegedly launched a savage assault on the victim, choking, punching and kicking the person as well as “jabbing” the victim on the side of the back with a knife.

“The victim made numerous attempts to escape, but each time, Szoradi allegedly placed himself on top of the victim and continued the assault, accusing the victim of cheating on him and threatening to kill them,” prosecutors stated.

According to the criminal complaint, Szoradi allegedly told his former lover that they were a “f****** cheater” and that he planned to mutilate the victim's “private parts” so that the person couldn’t have sex with anyone else.

Szoradi allegedly told the victim that he was going to take them to the Everglades in Florida to “finish” them, the criminal complaint states.

The location of the Essex County home was not disclosed in the criminal complaint.

Later that day, Szoradi allegedly put his former lover in the back seat of his relative’s 2006 Ford Expedition, binding their arms and feet with a string of Christmas lights so the person couldn’t escape, prosecutors said.

Szoradi did not have permission to take the car; his relative later reported it stolen, prosecutors said.

With his victim restrained in the back seat, Szoradi then took off driving in an effort to reach Florida. Based on toll pass records, the Ford Expedition crossed from New Jersey to Delaware around 5:53 p.m. on Dec. 15, the criminal complaint alleged.

But then - while passing through North Carolina - the victim managed to talk Szoradi into taking the former lover to a hospital, prosecutors said.

In an alleged attempt to conceal the extent of the victim’s injuries before taking them to the hospital, Szoradi drove to a Super 8 hotel in Garner, N.C., where he asked to rent a room and use the shower, the criminal complaint states.

On December 16 – a day after the alleged abduction – Szoradi drove the victim to a hospital in Clayton, N.C. Surveillance video allegedly showed him drop an object into a trash can near the entrance of the emergency room; law enforcement officers later recovered a knife from the area, prosecutors said.

Authorities arrested Szoradi at the hospital. Emergency responders treated his former lover for serious injuries including “multiple knife punctures and hand lacerations, facial and neck trauma, multiple contusions, and blackened eyes,” prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the kidnapping charge carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison. The transportation of a stolen vehicle, interstate domestic violence, and interstate violation of a protective order charges are each punishable by 10 years in prison.

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